This invention relates in general to computer systems and, in particular, to a device for interconnecting a host (source) computer with other (object) computers or peripheral equipment.
More specifically, this invention relates to a terminator for attaining compatibility between terminals, computers, printers and other equipment from different manufacturing sources.
The computer industry has introduced products from a multitude of different manufacturers involving many designs of disc drives, small computers, printers, terminals and related systems. Because of the presence of so many types of equipment, compatibility between systems from diverse sources has not been realized, with the result that many types of computers, peripheral equipment or software cannot be used with other products from another source.
Because code compatibility between diverse peripheral devices and computers does not exist, users have only been able to interconnect computers with peripheral equipment or other computers to a limited extent. The computer industry has failed heretofore to provide generally universal compatibility to enable the user of computer equipment to select and use products from a wide range of manufacturers. The failure to permit interchangeability of peripheral equipment with many types of computers, or computers with other computers, further makes the cost of software more expensive and less usable from machine to machine.
To solve this problem, numerous manufacturers and others in the computer industry set standards under the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and developed specifications for effective information interchange. The circuits specified by ANSI provide code compatibility for use between a wide range of computers and with other computers or with peripheral equipment. Software programming becomes less expensive and its use can be shared by more systems than in previous equipment where compatibility could not exist.